One Last Christmas
by Madje Knotts
Summary: "It's the news that no one hopes for, every parent's greatest fear. Finding out the child you love so much  Might not make it through the year." My first songfic, based off the song "One Last Christmas" by Matthew West


**A/N: So this story is based off the song by Matthew West entitled "One Last Christmas". The song is based off of the true story of a little boy named Dax Locke. At just thirteen months old, little Dax was diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia. He was given two bone marrow transplants as a part of emergency treatment; one from each of his parents. The doctors then told his parents that Dax would most likely not make it to see Christmas.**

**The song is about the love of a family, and the coming together of an entire community to make sure that this little boy could have one last Christmas. Dax did lose his battle with Leukemia, but not before he got to see one last Christmas.**

**I've never written anything angstly like this, but I wanted to put this out there and ask people to please look up the song, which can be found on Youtube, and I'd also like to ask people to give to St. Jude's Children's Hospital in honor of little Dax.

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_It's the news that no one hopes for,  
Every parent's greatest fear  
Finding out the child you love so much  
Might not make it through the year_

"I'm sorry Mr. and Mrs. Bartowski, I'm afraid that there's nothing we can do. The blood transplants didn't take, Brandon's Leukemia is still there. He probably won't live to see Christmas." The doctor looked sympathetically at Chuck and Sarah, "I'm very sorry, I'll leave you alone."

Sarah burst into tears as the doctor left the room and Chuck held her tight, tears mingling with hers.

"He's so young. Chuck," Sarah said at last, looking down at their 13 month old son, Brandon Casey Bartowski who was playing on the table with his twin sister Brittany Eleanor.

"I know, Sarah," Chuck soothed, holding his wife tightly, trying to be strong for Sarah, and failing.

"Mama," Brandon turned and held out his arms to his mother, smiling through her tears, Sarah went over and picked him up. Brandon frowned at the tears streaming down his mother's face, "No cwy mama."

Sarah held back the tears that threatened to spill over as she heard her son's innocent statement and saw.

Brittany, still on the table looked at her father, "No cry Dada."

Chuck smiled at his daughter, the spitting image of her mother, and smiled sadly at her as he copied his wife. "Alright sweetie."

"Let's go home Chuck," Sarah said, handing Chuck his curly headed son and taking Chuck's arm.

Chuck nodded, and he and Sarah walked out of the hospital, tears silently falling from their eyes as they walked out of the hospital. Headed home to prepare for losing their son before Christmas.

_Now the thought of spending Christmas  
Without him just feels wrong  
They've been praying for a miracle,  
Now they're praying he can just hold on_

"And that's what the doctor said." Chuck finished, leaving his family shocked. Casey, Morgan, Alex, Devon, and Ellie had all come over to hear the doctor's verdict, and Chuck had just finished telling them.

"Before Christmas?" Ellie asked, turning to look at her sister-in-law.

Sarah nodded, unable to hold back her tears any longer, sobbing at the thought of losing her precious son.

"Oh Sarah," Ellie said, tears streaming down her own face as she went over and hugged Sarah.

"It just seems wrong," Chuck said, "Christmas without Brandon, and the fact that he'll miss it, just makes it all the worse."

"I haven't prayed much since my mom died," Sarah said, "but I've been praying so hard today that somehow he'll miraculously recover."

"It'll be alright Walker," Casey said, and Chuck and Sarah were surprised the depth of emotion behind Casey's eyes and in his voice. "I'll do whatever I can to make sure he sees Christmas."

Sarah smiled shakily, "Thank you, Casey."_  
_  
_For one last Christmas, one last time,  
One last season when the world is right,  
One more telling of the story,  
One more verse of Silent Night,  
They'd give anything so he could have  
One last Christmas._

Later that night, after Sarah had checked on Brandon and Brittany for the hundredth time, she turned to Chuck in bed.

"Chuck, I don't want Brandon to miss Christmas, and I know he probably won't make it, what're we going to do?"

Chuck rolled over and pulled his wife into his arms, "I honestly don't know. Sarah, this is something that I've never dealt with before. Of all the things we've faced together, this is the worst, but we'll make it through this, we have to, for both Brandon and Brittany."

Sarah nodded and spoke, voice hoarse, "I know Chuck, but I just want him to make it to Christmas."

Chuck was about to speak when the idea hit him, smiling he said, "He just might see Christmas Sarah."

_Middle of September  
Still seventy degrees  
Daddy climbs up in the attic  
Brings down candles  
Hangs the lights on all the trees,_

The next morning was Saturday and Sarah was wakened by banging noises in the attic. Coming out of her room groggily, she found Brandon, Brittany, and their cousin Mary, sitting looking up a ladder into the attic.

Putting on a brave facade for the children, Sarah went down on her haunches, leaning over to hug her niece and children. "What's going on?"

"Dada," Brittany said pointing.

"Unkwle Johnnie." Brandon said, mirroring his sister, something he did often.

"Daddy." Two year old Mary said.

Sarah smiled, ruffling her son's dark curls, very much like his father's, as she stood and looked up the ladder. "Chuck?"

"Morning Sarah," Chuck said, peering down the hole at her.

"What're you doing?" Sarah asked.

"Well, last night, I figured out a way for Brandon to see Christmas." Chuck said, "This morning I called Casey and Devon and they agreed to help me."

"What's your idea?" Sarah asked, feeling a ray of hope spread inside her stomach.

"We're going to give him Christmas early." Chuck said, and Sarah could feel the tears pooling in her eyes and she could see the glistening in Chuck's own eyes.

Sarah smiled and picked up her son, holding him tight until he began to squirm, wanting to get down. He toddled off to play with his sister and cousin, she watched him through her tears, knowing that soon, he wouldn't even be able to play with his sister.

Chuck, Devon, and Casey climbed down from the attic, armed with all the Christmas decorations the Bartowski's had accumulated through the years. With Brandon, Brittany, and Mary's help, they set up the tree and decorated the inside of the apartment. Then they moved outside and began to decorate the three apartments.

_Then the neighbors started asking  
And pretty soon word got around  
First it was the neighborhood,  
Before too long they lit up that whole town._

As they were decorating the outside of the apartments, Ellie and Devon's next door neighbor arrived home, her 5 year old son in tow.

"Mommy," the little boy asked his mother, "Why're they decorating for Christmas? It's not time yet, is it?"

"No it's not," the mother said, "Why don't you ask them why they're decorating."

The little boy smiled and walked over to Chuck, "Excuse me Mr. Bartowksi."

"Yes Evan?" Chuck turned and got down on the little boy's level.

"Why are you decorating for Christmas? It's not Christmastime yet." Evan asked innocently.

"You know my son Brandon?" Chuck asked, Evan nodded, :"He's very sick, and the doctors don't think that he'll live until Christmas. So his Mommy and I decided to give him Christmas early."

Evan nodded and then turned to his mother, "Can we decorate too Mom? I want to help give Brandon Christmas."

His mother thought for a moment, she had heard the Brandon was sick, but she hadn't known it was that serious. Finally she nodded, "Alright, we'll start when your dad gets home."

Evan smiled then turned back to Chuck, "Can I tell all our other neighbors?"

Chuck nodded and smiled as the little boy ran off enthusiastically to get the other neighbors to decorate for the early Christmas.

CS~CS~CS~CS~CS

Sarah had left with Brandon and Brittany before the men had started to decorate the outside of the apartments, so when she returned home that night she was shocked. Every single apartment in the complex was decorated for Christmas.

"What's going on?" She asked Chuck as she walked into the apartment.

"Evan happened." Chuck said, taking Brandon from Sarah and hugging the small child. "He asked why we were decorating for Christmas, and I told him. He then went around to all the neighbors and told them that they needed to decorate so that Brandon could see Christmas. Then to my surprise, they all decorated."

Sarah let the tears stream down her face, the news overwhelmed her, she was so thankful to the five year old.

CS~CS~CS~CS~CS

Within a week, Sarah and Chuck had been contacted by four national news stations, Evan had gone farther than just the neighbors. He'd told his entire class at school, who in turn had told everyone they knew, until all of Burbank was brightly lit with Christmas decorations.

_For one last Christmas, one last time,  
One last season when the world is right,  
One more telling of the story,  
One more verse of Silent Night,  
They'd give anything so he could have  
One last Christmas._

Chuck and Sarah watched as their son slowly began to lose his battle with Leukemia. But as they watched, they were comforted by the recognition and support they got from people they didn't know. Then, the people they never expected to show any emotions, were there, providing them with support.

Carina, Cole, Mary Bartowski, the Turners, even Volkoff came to wish Brandon well.

Within a month of finding out, they knew Brandon's time was drawing to a close.

_Twenty-seventh of October,  
His time was wearing thin  
Friends and family, even strangers  
__That they didn't know brought presents in _

Presents began arriving at the house, not just for Brandon, but for Brittany, Chuck, and Sarah as well. Their family began spending all their time with Brandon, knowing that each day they were there could be the last time they saw him.

Sarah sat and watched as Brittany and Brandon sat on the couch watching tv. Brittany had sensed her brother's discomfort and tiredness and had begun spending time just laying silently with him, both their thumbs stuck in their mouths as they held each other.

"She knows." Chuck said, arms snaking around to encircle his wife's waist.

"I know she does," Sarah said turning, "I don't know how she'll function once he's gone." She swallowed hard as the lump in her throat tried to restrict her speech, "I don't... I don't know how I'll function."

Chuck wiped his wife's tears from her face lightly with his thumb, "We'll figure it out, Sarah, I promise. One day at a time, we'll figure it out."

Sarah nodded and leaned back against her husband, both going back to watching their children.

_He was weak but he was smiling  
Like there was nothing even wrong  
They said he wouldn't make it,  
Looks like he got to see it after all_

The day finally came that found him in the hospital, still smiling his large goofy grin that was identical to his fathers, even as he was slowly dying.

Brittany refused to leave his side, climbing up into Brandon's bed and beginning to twirl his curls in her fingers. They both fell asleep that night together, Chuck and Sarah holding vigil by his bedside, their family in the waiting room.

That night, as they slept, Brandon's heart stopped and the doctors were unable to revive him. Brittany screamed as Chuck and Sarah tried to remove her from Brandon's side before curling into their arms and sobbing along with them.

The only thing that made the family happy in this dark time, was the thought that Brandon had gotten to see Christmas after all.

_For one last Christmas, one last time,  
One last season when the world is right,  
One more telling of the story,  
One more verse of Silent Night,  
They'd give anything so he could have  
One last Christmas _

Every year, on the anniversary of Brandon's death, Chuck and Sarah would go to visit his grave. And every time, they would leave behind a Poinsettia, a reminder of the last Christmas they had been allowed to spend with him.

Every year it got easier, functioning without him, each one learning to put one foot in front of the other and take each day as it came.

Many years later, Brittany gave birth to her first child, and she named him Brandon, in honor of the brother she had lost after one last Christmas.

The End

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**So yeah, I'm kinda on a roll tonight, that's what happens when you are procrastinating studying for exams. I wanted to make this story as true to the actual story as possible, so I had to kill Brandon, something I really didn't want to do. Please review and let me know what you think.**

**Also, please find out where you can donate to St. Jude's in Dax's honor and consider doing so. **

**I hope all of you have a Merry Christmas.**

**Peace be with you,**

**Madje Knotts  
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